We know that the catholic church, over many years, has build up tremendous (social, financial and psychological) pressure, that has led many of those affected to believe that they are not allowed to tell that their father or the father of their child is a catholic priest. This pressure however, does not refer to any valid rules except internal chuch regulations, that are not binding in a secular state under the rule of law, in fact it is unlawful to build it up. With this website and adjuvant measures (demonstrations, lectures, interviews, etc.), it has now already been possible to thematize the matter politically, to name the breaches of law by the church, and to thereby redirect at least part of that pressure from the families of priests to the church. We would be glad however, if further children of priests or their mothers would contact us, so that the fight for justice in this matter could be further broadened, and the self-conception of those affected could be further changed. If you wish, your mails can be published on this page, if you prefer, however, we could also treat them as confidential.

In her mail, Veronika Egger, the daughter of a catholic priest, describes the peculiar and clearly unlawful arrangements, that were made with respect to the possibility of contact with her father and with respect to child support, during her childhood. She also mentions however, that she is now her fathers official heiress, a sign that is pays to fight, and that the (legal) situation is changing.

Excerpts of her mail:

…In my case, the ordinariate would have officially allowed contact with my father, if a supervisor from the church, a chaperone so to speak, would have been present …

…The arrangements about child support were made between my father and the head of the youth welfare office, he then never had to pay regular child support. Toward the youth welfare office, he had agreed to cater for us (buying foodstuff, financing major purchases), and the office let him do as he liked. Why, and which causes lay behind it, I have no idea. My mother at that time had already fought out so many struggles with the youth welfare office (because she had at first kept the father secret, the office had threatened her to take me away from her), so that she was just glad to get a rest from it all - she accepted the arrangement then…

I am [now] my fathers sole heiress, by the way. We shall wait and see, whether a battle with the church is looming there too.

...[On your website,] you have [until now] focused on questions of contact with the father, child support and inheritance. Would you probably also want to take up the exclusion of the children of priests in their everyday life (kindergarden, school, sport clubs, etc.)?

Kind regards,

Veronika

Nicole Eva-Maria Brand is a German-born American and the daughter of a German religious priest. Some time ago, at that moment not yet being aware of our website, she created her own Facebook-Page for children of catholic priests.

This is her introductory statement on the page:

Hello. My name is "Presence". I am the daughter of a catholic priest & was a secret in my father's life. I met my half - sister & brother only after his death. For over 2 years our uncle has been trying to disinherit us & pretend we don't exist. The challenges I've faced in my life with being visible have inspired me to create this group. I imagine there are many hidden children of catholic priest, and the mothers, sisters, & brothers who could use a place to share their story. Here it is. We are only as sick as our secrets. Everything exposed to the light of awareness eventually becomes luminous, even shame. Guilt is usually associated with something we have done, while shame is a believe and/or feeling that we are inherently flawed, when nothing could be further from the truth. My shame has been a sense that my existence was not worthwhile. My healing started when I became willing to be visible and to live my life out loud. I hope to provide a safe space for you to share your story. Together we can bridge the gap between what we thought we were suppose to be; quiet about our existence, and who we have come here to be; shining our light, fulfilling our calling.

For David Weber, the initiator of this website, the experiences were alltogether different again.

In order to be better able to keep his father, the former provincial of the order of the jesuits in Australia, away from David and his mother, the jesuits arranged a forced marriage for him, with a strictly catholic widow dependent on the order.

You can seek advice, on whether or not, and how, because basic rights like contact with one’s father, child support, and inheritance have been denied to you, you could enforce claims and possible titles toward the catholic church, you can contact the lawyer’s office of attorneys Karen Mücher, Martin Klingner and Mark Nerlinger:

Dedication

After careful consideration, we have decided to dedicate this website to Thomas Forster and Nathan Halbach, who were both son’s of catholic priests, and who died in 2007 and 2009, at the respective ages of 30 and 22.